what can i plant??????

i have a couple of yards that i cut where the grass doesnt get much sun at all because of big oak trees blocking it out. this of course leaves almost nothing but dirt with extremely sparse blades of grass. i was wondering if there was a grass that i can plant that will grow with "less than average" sunlight needed. these are good customers and i'd like to be able to give them a FULL lawn.

the yard doesnt get much at all. the front yard is very small and has a big oak tree covering almost the whole yard. i am thinking about planting zoysia or perennial rye because of the shade tolerance.

the yard doesnt get much at all. the front yard is very small and has a big oak tree covering almost the whole yard. i am thinking about planting zoysia or perennial rye because of the shade tolerance.

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I've tried Perennial Rye in a very shaded area and it didn't take. Our Exmark dealer sells seed also and they are supposed to have a very good shade mix. I will call him Tuesday and see what it is if you can wait.

the yard doesnt get much at all. the front yard is very small and has a big oak tree covering almost the whole yard. i am thinking about planting zoysia or perennial rye because of the shade tolerance.

Click to expand...

The only shade tolerant Zoysia that I know of is Palisades Zoysia but I believe that it still needs around 4 to 5 hours of sun a day. You may want to check on that. Palmetto St. Augustine may work, but again will need close to 3 to 4 hours of sun a day. If the yard is basically deep shade it would be "safer" to go with a shade tolerant fescue. What type of grass was/is there now ?

We are both in southern lawn turf country. There are only two grasses with good shade tolerance. St Augustine is the most tolerant but requires a lot of water. Emeral Zoysia is close to St Aug and requires a lot less water. The down side is the cost of sod is nearly double.

Constant shade is a real problem for any warm weather grass. If you have healthy turf around the shaded area, you can top dress to get a growth spurt that may last most of the season. This only seems to work a couple of times for us.

Hope this helps.

Tom

WE MOW IT PLUS +++
Georgetown, Round Rock, North Austin - a wonderful part of God's green earth.

Depending on how large of a shaded space you have, try sprigging with St. Augustine. This seems to be working great under the Live Oak Trees with very little and dappled sunlight around the house in SC. Buy from a good source and cut the sod into about 4-6 pieces and plant about a 1-foot apart. I covered mine with some spagnum peat moss and watered it deeply 2 times a day then after about two weeks cut down to 1 time per day. Most sod really needs to be kep damp while the roots are forming. After the 1st growing season apply some fertlizer with high K content. Roy

I've come to the conclussion of do you want trees or do you want grass?There seems to be a constant battle when trying to get grass to grow in well shaded areas. It can be done but it takes work ( watering, fertilizing, overseeding etc).